Madison Winston
by Spikerqueen
Summary: Madison, Dally's sister, moves to Tulsa following her mother's death. She becomes friends with our favorite greasers, but that friendship may eventually turn into something more.
1. Madison's POV

Chapter 1: Madison's POV I sat in the hospital room, next to my mom's bed. She was asleep, but I hoped she'd wake up soon. The doctor said her chances of living weren't very good. My mom was dying of cancer. She'd smoked most of her life and wound up with lung cancer. When Mom got sick a few months ago, I figured she was getting a cold or something. I was wrong. When Mom came in to see the doctor, he'd put her in the hospital. She was getting sicker every day. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a weak voice calling my name. "Madison." It was my mom. "Yeah, Mom?" I replied. "I gotta tell you something," she said hoarsely. I leaned in close so I could hear her. "Maddy, I want you to go to our apartment and look in the shoebox under my bed. There should be money in there. After I die-" She stopped when I interrupted. "Mom, you won't die. You can't die," I told her. She continued, "After I die, take the money, and find one of your brothers or sisters to live with. I've been saving the money so maybe you could do something with your life. Don't be in jail all the time like the other Winstons. You're better than than-you're smart." Obviously tired, she stopped. I couldn't stand the sight of her gasping for air. "Okay. I'll go home right now and get the shoebox," I promised. She nodded and managed a smile. Soon she fell asleep again. I hitched a ride to our apartment and rushed for my mom and my stepfather's bedroom after making sure no one was there. Just as Mom had said, there was a shoebox with a lot of money in it. I stuffed the shoebox in my duffel bag and headed back to the hospital. Mom was awake again, and she smiled when I told her I had the money. She did have a warning for me. "Don't tell Rodney or his kids, or even your father about the money. They'd probably be angry and might try to hurt you." "Okay," I agreed. I talked to her a while longer, until she fell asleep. Then I curled up in a chair and did some thinking. All my life, I'd wished my mom would show that she loved me. I knew she did, but she was more concerned with herself than anyone else. Now she'd shown me that she loved me. Too bad it wasn't sooner. My eyelids grew heavy, and I drifted off to sleep.  
  
The next afternoon, the doctor told me he needed to check my mom, so I waited outside the room. He was in there a long time, and I got worried that something was wrong. Finally, after more than an hour, he came out, his face grim. "What is it?" I asked anxiously. "I'm sorry, Madison. She died a few minutes ago," he informed me, then walked away. It took several minutes for the news to sink in. I just felt empty; I didn't feel much emotion. I couldn't believe my mom was dead. But I couldn't cry; Winstons just don't cry. Now I had nowhere to go. My stepfather, Rodney, hated me. He only put up with me for Mom's sake. I couldn't go to Dad's house. Not that you could really call him a dad. My dad didn't care if any of his kids were alive or dead. None of my brothers or sisters could take me because several were in jail or lived way to far away. Except for my seventeen-year-old brother, Dally. He was in Oklahoma, but I hadn't heard from him in more than six months. I figured he'd let me stay with him. I reflected on the last time I'd seen my brother. He'd been fifteen, and I'd been thirteen. He'd come back to New York for a while, and had taken me to Oklahoma to meet his friends. I'd really liked all his friends, especially Ponyboy and Johnny. I really wanted to see them again. I made up my mind to live with Dally. I probably should've written to him to tell him I was coming, but I needed to get out of there right away. I went to the apartment and packed up my few possessions, along with the shoebox of money. I wrote a letter to my brother, Brandon, to let him know where I was going so he wouldn't be concerned. I also wrote to Kayleigh, my best friend. Next, I bought a train ticket for the next morning. Now I had to figure out where I'd spend the night. Rodney wouldn't want to put up with me. I finally decided to stay in a hotel. I paid with the money from Mom. That night, I couldn't sleep. I actually missed my mom. That felt weird because Mom had never really paid much attention to me. I tried to get those thoughts out of my mind. I finally fell asleep around four o'clock in the morning.  
  
I got up at seven so I could shower before I left. I visited all my favorite places because I knew I wouldn't be back here anytime soon. By the time I was done, it was time to get on the train. Soon I was on the train, staring out the window. I had a seat next to the window, so I spent the first several minutes watching the scenery. As I watched the fields go by, I thought of what I would do when I got to Oklahoma. The problem was that I didn't know where Dally was staying. I could probably go to the Curtis house and ask where he was. Another option I had was to go to the gas station where I knew Steve Randle and Soda Curtis worked. I guess Soda started working at the DX more after his parents died. Dally had written to me about that. Though Dally's all tough and everything, once in a while, he'd write notes to me. He didn't write long notes, though-maybe a third of a page. I pulled out the last few notes I'd received from my older brother. After I read through them, my eyes started to drift shut.  
  
I woke up an hour later, sore from leaning against the window. My stomach growled, and I realized I hadn't eaten in probably two days. The problem was that I was too nervous about arriving in Tulsa to eat anything. I was worried the guys wouldn't accept me. After all, I hadn't been there for probably over two years. I pushed my fears to the back of my mind and opened a book I'd brought along. Several hours later, the train was nearing Tulsa. I pulled out my mirror to make sure I looked all right. I gasped as I saw my reflection. I had circles under my eyes, and I looked younger than my almost-sixteen years. A voice interrupted my inspection of myself. "Next stop, Tulsa, Oklahoma." I shoved my mirror back into my bag and prepared to see my brother. After I got off the train, I headed for Buck Merrill's place, where Dally often hung out. 


	2. Chapter 2 (Dally)

Disclaimer: I own the people you don't recognize. S.E. Hinton owns the rest.  
  
  
  
I'd been sleeping in a bed at Buck Merrill's for four hours when I got a rude awakening. Someone was pounding on the door. "What is it?" I shouted. "There's someone here who wants to see you," Buck called as he opened the door. "Who is it?" I asked. "She didn't say," he answered. She? I broke up with Sylvia a long time ago, so it couldn't be her, could it? "Is it Sylvia?" "Naw. I didn't recognize her. She doesn't look nothin' like a greaser girl. Nothing tight on, and she ain't wearin' loads of make-up either." I sighed as I got out of bed and followed Buck to where the girl was waiting. It took me a minute to figure out who she was. Then it hit me-it was my baby sister! Her hair was longer, and she looked thinner than last time I saw her, but it was her, all right. "Madison?" I asked. She nodded but didn't smile. That was weird; she was usually pretty happy. "Why are you here?" I questioned. "I had nowhere else to go." She paused a second before saying, "Mom died." I was pretty shocked. That was the last thing I'd expected. "How? And when?" "Lung cancer," replied Madison. "I'm sorry, I forgot to send you a letter telling you she was sick. And she died yesterday afternoon." "Oh." I could barely be sad that my mother had died. I mean, she had barely cared about any of us kids. Maddy might be sad since she hadn't left home at twelve or thirteen like all the others. "So, you need a place to stay?" "Yeah, if it's okay with you." That was Maddy-she actually turned out sorta polite. "All right. A few weeks ago, I found a cheap apartment. You can stay with me there." "Thanks." I looked her over more closely. "You okay?" I asked, seeing the dark circles under her eyes. Not only did I surprise her, I surprised myself. I'm not usually too worried about anyone but me. "Yeah. Just tired and hungry," she admitted. "Let's go to the apartment." She grabbed her bad and followed me to that old, beat-up car I swiped. We climbed into the car and were at the apartment within a few minutes. I realized as I looked at the inside of the apartment that it was pretty low- class and run-down. I only had a bed, some appliances and a table in the kitchen, and an old couch and a few chairs. Madison wouldn't care, though. She was used to living in a dumpy, crowded apartment with Mom and Rodney. Madison set her bag down on the couch and went through and looked at everything. It didn't take her very long; there's only a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. When she was done, she took a seat on the couch. "You can have the bed," I offered, knowing full well she probably wouldn't take it. "No. It's your place-you have the bed. I'll sleep on the couch," she told me in no uncertain terms.  
  
"Okay." Suddenly something occurred to me. "Maddy, how did you get the money for the train ticket?" "Mom had been saving money for me so I could go to college, and she gave it to me. I'd guess that she's been saving up for many years; there must be a couple thousand dollars."  
  
  
  
I was shocked at two things. First: that Mom hadn't spent the money on drugs. Second: that she'd cared enough to save it for Maddy. That didn't sound like the typical Winston. Winstons thought about themselves. Except for Maddy and my brother, Brandon. They were actually honest and hadn't been in jail. Maddy's question interrupted my thoughts. "You got anything to eat around here?" "I think there's some crackers and beef jerky in the cupboard." She went to the kitchen, grabbed the crackers, and sat back down. I turned on the television, and we watched some show while Madison finished the crackers. "I'm going over to the Curtis' tonight. Remember them?" I continued at her nod. "You can come if you want to." "Sure. It'd be cool to see all of them again. Will Johnny be there?" she questioned. "Yeah." Suddenly, I remembered something. "Did I write to you about what happened to Ponyboy and Johnny?" "No," replied Madison. "A few months ago, Johnny and Ponyboy were in the park late one night, and some Socs tried to drown Pony. Johnny killed a Soc to save Pony. Then I helped Ponyboy and him run away. Later, there was a fire in the church they had stayed in, and those two dumb boys went inside to try to save the little kids that were there. I went in after them, and the three of us almost got killed. Johnny hurt his back, and they thought he'd die or be crippled, but he survived and can walk with crutches. Luckily, the judge let Johnny off, saying he only killed the Soc in defense."  
  
"Wow. I can't imagine Johnny or Ponyboy getting into trouble," remarked Madison. "I know," I agreed. "Maddy, I'm gonna run to the gas station and get some Kools and some food. You wanna come?" "No. I'll just stay here and finish the book I'm reading." "You're reading a book?" My sister just does not read books. "Yeah. Kayleigh told me it was a really good mystery, so I'm reading it." "Okay." I shrugged. "I'm gonna take off now. I'll be back soon." I went outside and hopped into my car. A few minutes later, I arrived at the gas station. "Hi, Dally," Soda greeted me from the cash register. I wondered where Steve was. Probably working on a car. "Hey, Soda," I said. "What do you need?" "Some Kools and some food," I told him. I grabbed a couple packs of Kools and some bags of chips and pretzels and paid for them. "You coming over tonight?" Soda asked. "Yeah. Around seven." "'Kay. See ya then," he called as I went outside. When I got back, I found my sister asleep on the couch with her book across her stomach. I closed the book and set it quietly on the floor. I figured I'd take a shower really quickly so I could be out when she woke up. I hopped into the shower and was out in ten minutes. I looked in on Madison and saw that she was still asleep. I opened a bag of Doritos and began munching on them. Several minutes later, a sleepy-looking Madison shuffled into the kitchen. "Geez, you must've been tired." She nodded. "I've probably slept about fifteen hours in the last four days." "Want some chips?" I asked. "Sure." She ripped the bag of Fritos open and started eating. "So, what time are we going over to the Curtis'?" "Probably seven o'clock. So in about an hour." "Cool," Madison responded. Then, "Got anything to drink?" "Yeah. I've got some beer and some Pepsi, or you could get water from the faucet. What do you want?"  
  
  
  
"Some Pepsi." She opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle, and popped the lid off to take a swig. We sat at the kitchen table in silence for around fifteen minutes. Then Madison went to grab her bag so she could change clothes. I told her she could take a shower, but she said she'd already taken one that morning. Several minutes later, I heard the TV turn on. I didn't hear anything besides the TV for the next forty-five minutes. "Hey, Maddy?" I called. "Yeah?" "You ready to hear to the Curtis'?" "Sure." She walked out to the kitchen. I grabbed the key to my car and a few beers, and we got into the car and headed for the Curtis'.  
  
  
  
  
  
~A/N~ I know this chapter was kinda boring. The next chapter will be better- from Soda's POV. Thanks for the reviews on Chapter 1! 


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